Primary Data Collection

Due to the nature of the methodological strategy pursued by this doctoral research, the primary source of information is contained in written form, that is, textual data. Therefore, the main body of textual data has been generated from interview transcripts, field notes, memos, or even text fragments from policy documents or other official documents, to name a few. According to Burnard (1996), the point is that what is being analysed is words on paper. The author suggests that such analysis raises its own problems in two main aspects. First, textual data is nearly always divorced from context; therefore, the interview transcript or other pieces of text have no longer very much to do with the interview itself. Second, reading textual data involves interpretation; according to the author, such interpretation may be at a surface level or at a deeper level. In the latest, the researcher has to make sense of the data (Burnard 1996, p.278).

Semi-structured Expert Interviews

During fieldwork, the empirical data collection took place by means of conducting semi-structured expert interviews. This interview method was chosen among other alternatives because it offers some suitable benefits for the research design. According to Cohen and Crabtree (2006) the main benefits for the qualitative researchers are threefold: 1) interview questions can be prepared in advance, allowing the researcher to focus on the particulars of the interviewee’s experience and perceptions; 2) semi-structured interviews allow interviewees the freedom to express their point of views in their own terms; and 3) semi-structure interviews can provide reliable, comparable qualitative data.

Moreover, even though semi-structured interviews are flexible – in the sense that they allow the researcher certain degree of freedom to choose the order in which the questions are asked during the interview – they require rigorous preparation. It is essential to define specific objectives for each interview, in order to adapt the interview guideline to the uniqueness of each interviewee. Furthermore, it is important to devise an interview plan, and draw up a consent form as described in the following sections. Finally, this method allows the researcher to gather information in a relatively short period of time (Taylor and Bogdan 1996).

A feature of case study research is the use of multiple data sources, a strategy which also enhances data credibility (Patton 1990; Yin 2009). Therefore, since the research is a cross cutting interdisciplinary work enlighten from different institutional and scientific settings, different stakeholders beyond the private housing market were taken into

account as key informants; namely: public regulatory agents, scholars, and other representatives of organizations currently working on the field of energy efficiency in the housing sector (see Table 7). Although the most important key stakeholders for the porpoises of this research are real estate developers, in order to have a holistic approach to the topic, the interview-partner selection sought for the views of the public institutions, the academy, and non-profit organizations working in the field.

Table 7: Key Stakeholders and their Positions (Source: Own compilation)

Institution / Company Position Housing

Sector Real estate developers. General managers and Project Managers, mainly.

Ministry of Housing and Urban

Development. Representatives of the Construction

Technologies Department.

Coordinator of the Housing Observatory.

Chilean Construction Chamber. Representatives of the Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Department.

Gemines (Real Estate Management). Representatives of the company.

Construction Institute. Executive Director.

Energy

Sector Chilean Energy Efficiency Agency. Representatives of the Commercial, Public and Residential Department.

Local Electric Utility (Chilectra). Representatives of Regulation and Energy Management Departments.

Integrated Energy Services. Representatives of the company (Former PRIEN³⁵ members).

ArqEnergia (Architecture and Energy

Efficiency). Representatives of the company.

Research Catholic University of Chile - Faculty of

Architecture. Professors at the Energy Efficiency

Department.

Adolfo Ibañez University - Spatial

Intelligence Center. University Representatives.

Fundación Chile. Representatives of the Energy Efficiency Department.

The table 7 presents a summary of the interview partners. They were carefully selected on the basis of what they may know about the research topic – the implementation of residential energy efficiency measures in the private housing sector. Therefore, they could help the researcher to fill in pieces of a puzzle or confirm the proper alignment of pieces already in place (Aberbach and Rockman 2002, p.673).

35 Programme of Research in Energy (Programa de Estudios e Investigaciones en Energía, or PRIEN).

Prior to each interview, different interview guidelines were drawn up. On the one hand, a general interview guideline for real estate companies’ general managers. On the other hand, different interview guidelines for the other key informants who were interviewed during the fieldwork as part of the research. The distinction made between real estate developers and other key stakeholders sought to adapt the interview guideline to the action exerted from various perspectives related to the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the residential sub-sector. This does not meant to exclude the action of one or other stakeholders, but to recognize the diversity of actors and roles in the field.

Moreover, a portfolio analysis³⁶ of every selected company was conducted prior to the interview, based on the available information on the company’s website. This information served to provide an overview of the main characteristics of the companies and to tailor the interview appointment.

Personal interviews were conducted with different key informants during a six-week fieldwork stay in Santiago de Chile, between April and May 2012. Interviews were conducted until a saturation point, when the collection of new data does not shed any further light on the issue under investigation, is reached (Guest et al. 2006).

Most of the interviews were carried out at the workplace of the interview partners, although in one particular case it took place in a coffee shop near the informants’ working place. Informants were contacted via e-mail, telephone calls, or personal visits to the informants’ working place.

Besides the information of the selected companies, all relevant information about other key informant was collected prior the interview appointment. The information was collected from public websites or from people who know them personally or know their working experience in the field of energy efficiency.

Finally, when visiting the real estate developers for the interview appointment, technical data regarding the implemented energy efficiency strategies was also collected. The aim was to provide an overview to support real estate companies’ managers’ discourse regarding how energy-efficient their buildings are.

36 The portfolio analysis included collecting data regarding: housing typologies, market segments, price ranges, ranges of built area, and the location of energy efficient housing projects.

The Interview Guideline – Real Estate Companies’ Managers

Although this research draws on the opinion of the key stakeholders involved in the field of residential energy efficiency in the private housing sector, the opinion of real estate developers plays a predominant role. Therefore, although a specific interview guideline was tailor-made for each one of the groups of stakeholders, in this section special attention it is given to the interview guideline for real estate companies’ managers.

The order and the way of questioning vary according to the flow of the conversation at the time the interview was carried out. Since this semi-structured interview was carried out, the interviewer had the freedom to alter the order of the questions insofar as respondents were providing new information. Therefore, general contents and some ideas as to the formulation of the questions sought to address in each part of the interview are described below.

The interview guideline for private developer companies’ managers is divided into five sections. The first section collects some general personal data regarding the interviewees’ professional background. Samples of questions asked are: what is your profession? What are your responsibilities in the company? How many years have you been working for the company? How many in your current position?

The second section of the questionnaire inquires about the company’s experience in adopting energy efficiency in their housing products. Good examples of the questions asked are: when was the initiative to implement energy efficiency measures born in the company? Since how long have you been implementing them?; What are the determinants for implementing energy efficiency measures in the current housing offer?;

Is there any particular reason for the application of such measures?; Are the energy efficiency measures applied to all buildings built by the company? Is there any difference between the energy efficiency measures applied in one building / dwelling or other?

Which and Why?; What is the role of the client / end user in the decision to apply one or other energy efficiency measure?; What is your opinion regarding the benefits to implementing energy efficiency measures in residential buildings?

The third section sought to capture companies’ general managers’ opinion regarding the energy efficiency regulatory framework and to provide insights regarding the energy efficiency strategies adopted. Examples of questions asked are: What is your opinion regarding the implementation of New Thermal Regulation through the National Building

Code? Do you know something about the history or the development process/implementation of it?; Which have been the effects of the implementation of New Thermal Regulation in the company’s construction costs of new buildings?; What are the implemented standards that go beyond the demands of the New Thermal Regulation?

The fourth section goes deeper in understanding the residential buildings’ energy end-use: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting. Good examples of the questions asked are: What are the elements of the building in which they are implementing energy efficiency measures and why? (i.e. insulation of exterior walls, high-performance windows, etc.; Do the buildings have some sort of power/heating generation systems of their own? Which ones? (i.e. electricity, natural gas, wood, solar panels);

What are the systems with energy efficiency standards? (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting.); Does the electrical and electronic equipment operating in the building have any kind of energy performance certificate? Why?

Finally, the following technical data was collected from each company: the amount of m² built by the company; (schematic) blue prints of the apartment buildings and/or housing types, i.e. those more frequently built by the company; construction details, finishing, coatings, etc.

Figure 13: Structure of the Sample (Source: Own illustration)

In general, every personal interview with companies’ managers lasted around 30 minutes, although some have been extended up to an hour and a half. In some cases, the interviews were conducted with various representatives, two or three people simultaneously, mainly in the case of regulators, research organizations, and the academia.

The structure of the sample is shown in the Figure 13. Real estate companies’ managers were the larger group in the sample. Therefore, the opinion gathered through interviews reflects the higher-management level perspectives in the companies’ decision making. In other words, it was possible to access the point of views of those who are the top of the real estate companies’ structure; therefore, their perceptions regarding why and how are they implementing residential energy efficiency measures in their new residential buildings offer are central to this doctoral research.

The second group in the sample is constituted by project managers who have the knowledge and the technical expertise regarding the key features of the housing projects offered by the company. Therefore, their perceptions articulated the main reasons for companies to implement residential energy efficiency measures, as well as the technical features of the various residential energy efficiency strategies implemented in the different real estate products.

Finally, smaller groups in the sample are equally: Innovation and Logistics Managers, Technical Managers, and other Technicians responsible for the implementation of residential energy efficiency measures. These respondents gave fundamental views regarding technical barriers and constraints encountered during the implementation of residential energy efficiency measures³⁷.

Ethical Considerations

At the very beginning of every interview, the interview partners were informed about the objectives of the research, the reasons why he or she was contacted, and received all the contact details of the researcher and his research institution. It was also mentioned that the interview was voluntary, anonymous and confidential, and that the research pursuits strictly academic purposes within the framework of the doctoral research.

37 The energy efficiency measures are reviewed in detail in Chapter 7.

Furthermore, the respondents were requested to give written consent for the recording of the interview in digital format, which was granted by signing a consent form (see Annex A). The consent form was signed by all of the respondents but one. Only one private developer refused to consent the recording of the interview; in that particular case, detailed minutes of the meeting were hand-written for further transcription and analysis.

Moreover, in order to ensure data confidentiality and to protect the empirical data, the interview records and transcripts were properly stored into a password-protected computer, and backed-up on an external hard drive used exclusively by the researcher.

Finally, due to confidentiality reasons, the names of the companies nor from key informants are not disclosed.